Hue. 31st July - 2nd August

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Binh met us at Hue airport and whisked us off to La Residence, a smart, luxurious and very comfortable art deco hotel. Our room, with balcony, overlooked the Perfume River and the passing boats drifting up and down stream in picturesque fashion. After a swim and gentle relaxation (including some water colour work of the sunset), we strolled along th banks of the river after dusk, past gaggles of youngsters and courting couples. Oner group had marked out their own area with small candles, and were playing with sparklers. The town centre on the French side of the river was disappointing; back-packer heaven with fast food and pizza, neon lights, cheap beer, two for one cocktails and Happy Hours that seemed to go on for ever. Fortunately, Binh's , The Tropical Garden, turned out to be excellent and we ate glutinous rice cakes, prawns in honey, chopped shrimp with glutinous rice, etc. Back at the hotel, the bar man introduced us to Cafe Sua: Vietnamese Coffee with condensed milk which is then poured over ice.

The next day dawned hot and humid, so we got cyclos to the Imperial City - the effects of an early morning swim had worn off very quickly. Once through the outer gate, however, we were drawn into the scale and grandeur of the site. Reconstruction after the French sacking of the Citadel and the major battle of the American War is still a work in progress. Some old buildings remain more or less intact, such as the Emperor's Reading Pavilion. Others have been restored for a while and are blending in slowly, like the temples. Much has simply been levelled and is in the process of being re-built now.

Once away from the central core of the gates and the Palace of Supreme Harmony, it was remarkably uncrowded and completely unsupervised. From one cluster of buildings a glimpse of roof-line or another gateway lured us on to the next enclosure. Favourite bits included the dramatic and powerful Palace of SUpreme Harmony, The Queen Mother's Palace Buildings - peaceful, shady, cool and full of beautiful decorations, water areas, intricate carvings and tiling.

After four and a half hours, we had just about melted, so we retreated to the hotel pool for the rest of the day. In relaxation mode, we ate in and finished with another cafe sua.

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Photos

La Residence
The view from our room